HCC'S
ART DEPARTMENT SEEKS TO BECOME FLAGSHIP

By Brandon T. Bisceglia

BRIDGEPORT - Professor John Favret, who became program
coordinator for Housatonic Community College's art department
last autumn, is aiming high for the future of his students. He wants
nothing less than to "establish our school as the best community
college in the area for the arts and computer graphics."

He's hardly starting from scratch. HCC has long boasted the
largest art collection of any two-year college in the country, a fact
largely attributable to the late Burt Chernow, who once had Favret's
job. The college currently offers over 20 different courses in a range
of art-related subjects, including Ceramic Handbuilding, Advanced Digital
Photography, and Digital Video Editing.

Favret is currently working to expand this already robust curriculum
in two ways: by offering more advanced courses, and by increasing the
basic courses being taught. This, he feels, will better serve the variety
of students who come to HCC to learn about art.

"We get a wide mix of people," he says. "Some are
at the introductory level, but others are more advanced. Some students
don't plan to go to a four-year school, so they want to get everything
they can with their associates. At the same time, we try to make sure
that everything is transferable."

Favret notes that HCC has automatic transfer agreements with several
four-year colleges and university that allow qualified graduates of
HCC art programs to transfer seamlessly into those schools. He says
that he is looking "on the horizon" to get agreements completed
with Central, Western and Southern Connecticut State Universities.

Even if a student chooses not to move on to another college, he or
she can get sophisticated training through some of the art classes.
In Advanced Digital Photography, for instance, students produce a personal
portfolio based on their own inspiration using a suite of editing software,
including Adobe Photoshop, Aperture, and Lightroom. They also learn
about photographic aesthetics and the history of photography.

A few new classes that are on Favret's radar screen for the
near future include Studio Photography, Sculpture II, and Portrait
Painting. He's also excited about the Digital Video Editing class,
which will have its first run this Spring. Students will learn such
things as editing and trimming, audio mixing, timeline, QuickTime movies,
output to tape, and using filters and effects. "I believe the
only other community college in the state that has the course is Manchester," he
points out. "We don't know where it will take us yet - maybe
more opportunities in the field of broadcasting."

Favret is also hoping to secure a few extracurricular perks for those
in the arts and graphic design programs. For example, he'd like
to sponsor artists' and lecturers, especially "to bring
in artists who could give demonstrations of techniques not taught at
the school." Additionally, his department has begun using professional
models that have modeled at the Silvermine Art Guild and come highly
recommended. "It will help to bring out the quality we want," he
explains.

In the immediate term, he's revamping the art program to provide
students with improved workspace and bringing in top part-time instructors,
some of whom come from Rhode Island School of Design and Yale University

Favret is pleased with how well the art program is being received.
Enrollment at community colleges since the beginning of the recession
has exploded, and HCC is no exception. According to Favret, the art
courses for Spring, 2010 have been filling up faster than expected.

"Around this time," he says, "we usually begin looking
to cut classes [that show a lack of interest]. We've added five
new classes instead. We could add more."

Brandon T. Bisceglia is a journalism student and intern at Housatonic
Community College.

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